Tumbler



Oct 3, 1944 J. P. JoRGENsoN x-:TAL 2,359,481

TUMBLER Filed Oct. 28, 1945 m. M n w.

Patented Oct. 3, 1944 TUMBLER.

John P. Jorgenson, Wllmette, and Alfred G.

Kling, Chi

cago, Ill., assignors to Kling Bros.

Engineering Works, Chicago. Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application October 28, 1943, Serial No. 508,040

' (CLM- 134) 8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in tumblers and more particularly to tumblers adapted for use in the laundry or dry cleaning industry.

In the usual type oftumbler there is a garment receiving cylinder having a foraminous periphery rotatable in an outer casing. In addition, the outer casing is provided with relatively complicated means for preheating air and for introducing said air into the rotatable cylinder. Suction hoods and conduits are also provided to remove the moisture laden air from the perforations in the periphery of the cylinder as the latter rotates. This type of constructionfutillzes a substantial amount of material and is expensive to manufacture and assemble. Furthermore, the heated air tends to travel to the periphery of the cylinder before it has extracted a maximum amount of moisture from the garments. As a result the drying operation is rendered relatively slow andineillcient.

It is a general object of the presentlnvention to provide a tumbler in which no outer shell or casing for the rotatable cylinder is necessary, and wherein a novel and simple arrangement is utilized for causing effective circulation of heated air through the cylinder whilethe latte!` rotates, the heated air being so directed as to cause it to eiiiciently act upon the garments within the cylinder to extract the maximum amount of moisture therefrom.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cylin ical tumbler having a solid, unperforf ated pe pheral wall, having a garment receiving opening at one end of the cylinder, heating means at the opposite end, and an air exhausting means at the same end as the heating means. there being novel means for conducting heated air into the drum and for causing said air to circulate effectively in the drum while the latter rotates.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction as above described wherein there is an exhaust conduit positioned axially of the drum at one end thereof, and wherein the heating means surrounds the exhaust conduit and is positioned adjacent perforations in the end wall of the tumbler.

A further, more specific object of the invention is to provide a tumbler as above described wherein the perforations through which heated air enters the drum communicate with the interior of hollow perforated lifting ribs.

Other objections of the invention are to provide a tumbler which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, easy to assemble. strong and durable, and which is well adapted for the purpose described.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of the improved tumbler and all its parts and combinations as set forth in the claims and all equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating one complete embodiment of the preferred form of the invention, in which the same reference numerals designate the same parts in all of the views:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view taken axially through the cylinder approximately on the line I--I of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the improved tumbler and Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken approximately on line 3-3 of Fig. l.

Referring more particularly to the drawing the numeral 8 designates a suitable supporting frame having base members 9 and supporting legs III. Mounted on the base are upstanding bearing members II on one side and I2 on the other side. A shaft I3 is journalled in the bear- Y ing members II and a shaft I4 is Journalled in the bearing members I2. The shaft I3 has rigidly mounted thereon drum supporting rollers I6, and similar rollers I6 are rigidly mounted on the shaft I4.

In the illustrated exempllcation an electric motor I1 has its drive shaft I8 provided with a pinion gear I9 which engages a pinion gear 20 on a horizontal shaft 2|. The horizontal shaft 2I is adapted to drive, through suitable means such as a worm and wormwheel connection, the shaft I3. 'Ihe forward end of the shaft I3 may be equipped with a rigidly mounted sprocket wheel 22 which is connected by an endless chain 23 with a sprocket wheel 24 rigidly mounted on the forward end of the .other shaft I4. Thus, operation of the motor I1 in a desired direction causes simultaneous rotation of the two sets of drum supporting rollers I5 and I6. It is apparent, however, that any suitable means may be utilized for driving and transmitting power. to the rollers I5 and I6. Furthermore, the rollers may be used merely as a rotatable support and the drum may be driven through any type of transmission desired.

The tumbler cylinderv or drum 25 is mounted for rotation on a horizontal axis. This cylinder is equipped with external peripheral tracks 26 and is supported for rotation on the rollers I5 and I6. In the embodiment illustrated, the

rollers engage within the tracks to cause rotation of the cylinder.

The peripheral wall 2l of the cylinder is unperforated and the front end wall 23 is provided with a garment receiving opening 29. The opening 29 is closed by a. door 30 which may rotate with the cylinder. IAt the opposite end of thecylinder is a wall 3I formed with a central opening y32. 'I'he cylinof the fan housing 33 projects into th-e openingl 32 at the end of the rotatable cylinder. The

cylinder is therefore rotatable around the conduit portion 33. Another conduit 33 extends `from the fan housing 3l to a suitable point of discharge.

Surrounding the exhaust conduit 33 is a suitable heating means 43. This heating means is' preferably circular in form and positioned near the periphery of the tumbler at the end thereof. In the form of the invention illustrated the heater comprises a continuous circular heating tube having an inlet 4I and an outlet 42. 'I'he inlet may connect with a suitable source of heating fluid. 'I'his may be steam, hot water, or hot gases. The heater is located adjacent perforations 43 in the end wall of the cylinder. These perforations communicate with the interior of the hollow ribs 33. The ribs 33 in turn are perforated as indicated at 44. Preferably the number of perforations in the ribs 33 increases progressively away from the heater as illustrated in Fig. 1. 'Ihose perforations closest to the heater may also be made-smaller than those farther away in order to equalize the distribution of heated air as it is discharged from the ribs into the cylinder.

In use of the device, garments to be dried are loaded dnto the receiving opening 29, when the door 3.0 is open. These may be garments which have been dry-cleaned or which have been laundered. The door'30 is then closed and the electric motor is started. This will cause rotation of the tumbler lcylinder 25. It is preferred to have the speed of rotation in the neighborhood of 38 R. P. M. As the cylinder rotates, the ribs 33 will carry the garments upwardly until gravity causes the garments to fall back to the bottom ofthe cylinder. At the same time, with the suction fan 36 in operation, air from the exterior will be pulled past the heater tubes 40 into the perforations 43 and into the interior of the hollow ribs 33. This heated air will then be sucked out of the perforations 44 of the ribs into the interior of the cylinder, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1 and the garments will be subjected to the drying effect of this air as the garments are being acted upon by the rotating cylinder. The heated moisture laden air will ultimately be exhausted through the conduit 33 and out of `theioutlet 33. Due to the location of the exhaust conduit, the heated air will travel from the periphery of the cylinder toward the axis thereof to effectively wipe the garments within the cylinder. In constructions wherein the heated air is discharged through peripheral holes the air tends to travel to the periphery of the cylinder beforeit has edectively contacted all portions of the garments in the cylinder. The present invention, therefore, due to the emciency of the drying action, speeds yup the drying operation.

Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention `and all of such changes are contem-` ,radially outwardly from the exhaust conduit, air

heating means positioned radially outwardly from said exhaust conduit and adjacent said air inlet openings, means for causing movement of air from the exterior past said lheating means. into said air inlet openings, vand through the 'interior of the cylinder to said exhaust conduit, v and means for distributing said air throughout the lengthof the cylinder.

2. A tumbler comprising .a rotatable cylinder having a garment receiving opening. an exhaust conduit communicating with an end of the cylinder, said cylinder having air inlet openings in said end positioned radially outwardly from the exhaust conduit, air heating means positioned radially outwardly from said exhaust conduit and adjacent said air inlet openings. means for causing movement of air from the exterior past said heating means, into said air inlet openings, and through the interior of the cylinder to said exhaust conduit, and meansV for distributing said air substantially throughout the length of the cylinder. y

3. A tumbler comprising a rotatable cylinder having a garment receiving opening, means for supporting an exhaust fan exteriorly of the cylinder and adjacent an end thereof, an exhaust conduit around which the cylinder rotates extending from said fan axially into said end of the cylinder, said cylinder having air inlet' openings in said end i positioned radially outwardly from the exhaust conduit, air heating means positioned radially outwardly from said exhaust conduit and sdjacent said air inlet openings, means for causing movement of air from the exterior past said heating means, into said air inlet openings and through the interior of the cylinder to said exhaust conduit, and means for distributing said air in the cylinder.

4. A tumbler comprising a rotatable cylinder having a garment receiving opening at one end, an exhaust conduit communicatingI with the opposite end of the cylinder, said cylinder having air inlet openings in said opposite end positioned radially outwardly from the exhaust conduit, air heating means positioned radially outwardly from said exhaust conduit near the outer side of the end wall of the cylinder and adjacent the air inlet openings therein, means for causing movement of air past said heating means, into said air inlet openings, and through the interior of the cylinder to said exhaust conduit, and means for distributing said air in the cylinder.

5. A tumbler comprising a rotatable cylinder having a garment receiving opening at one end, an exhaust conduit communicating with the opposite end of the cylinder, said cylinder having air inlet openings in said opposite end positioned radially outwardly from the exhaust conduit, air heating means surrounding said exhaust conduit and positioned adiacent said air inlet openings. means for supporting said heating means in fixed position. means for causing movement ot air from the exterior past said heating means into said air inlet openings, and through the interior of the cylinder to said exhaust conduit, and means in the cylinder for distributing said air.

6. A tumbler comprising a rotatable cylinder having a garment receiving opening at one end, an exhaust conduit communicating with the opposite end of the cylinder, said cylinder having air inlet openings in said opposite end positioned radially outwardly from the exhaust conduit, circular air heating means surrounding said exhaust conduit, means for supporting said heating means so that the air inlet openings in the end of the cylinder are always near the heating means as low ribs, air heating means positioned radially outwardly from said exhaust conduit and adiacent said air inlet openings and means for causing movement of air from the exterior past said heating means, into said air inlet openings and ribs, and through the interior of the cylinder to said exhaust conduit.

8. A tumbler comprising a rotatable cylinder y having a garment receiving opening at one end,

an exhaust conduit communicating with the opposite end of the cylinder. hollow perforated garment lifting ribs in said cylinder, said cylinder having air inlet openings in that end Wall with which the exhaust conduit connects, which openings communicate with the interior of said hollow ribs, air heating means positioned radially outwardly from said exhaust conduit and adjacent said air inlet openings and means for causing movement of air Afrom the exterior past said heating means, into said air inlet openings and ribs, and through the interior of the cylinder to SaidV exhaust conduit, the effective size of the perforations in said ribs increasing progressively away from the air inlet openings to provide for distribution of air from said perforations l throughout the length of the ribs.

v JOHN P. JoRGENsoN.

ALFRED G. KLING. 

